Chapter 6

Kirsten woke up with a bit of a headache, cats meowing at her, and a heavy arm resting on her waist, keeping her pinned down.

For a terrifying half second, she thought she was going to have to panic, but then she moved her fingers and they screamed at her, the pain jolting her awake.

Right.

She hadn't been drunk.

She hadn't been stupid.

But she had been writing and awake with Skyla until damn near four, and they'd ended up crashing in her queen-sized bed.

They were fully clothed. In yesterday's stuff, and she was a little afraid she smelled like it, too. Skyla smelled like… Kirsten sniffed. Vanilla and some kind of spicy shampoo. It was a great scent.

Skyla looked amazingly normal without a ton of makeup, her hair mussed. Like a woman who had a plan and didn't mind working for it.

She was also remarkably pretty. Naturally so. Kirsten liked this look better.

Not that Skyla gave two shits about that, but she could admire a second, dream that this whole thing was the start of something real.

"Mmm. Warm." Skyla scooted back against her a little.

It was. It was borderline hot and she wanted to lean forward and take a kiss. She wouldn't, but it was a happy little fantasy.

"Oh, hey." Skyla chuckled. "This is a nice bed, honey." That voice, all low and husky, made her want even more than a kiss.

"It is. Cozy, hmm?" Her cheeks heated right up. "Sleep okay?"

"I slept like the dead once we laid down. You?" Skyla moved that hand across her body down to her hip.

"I did. I crashed hard. My fingers are sore." She dared to touch Skyla's arm.

"Mine too. I totally have claw hand." Skyla shifted against her, her body so soft and hot.

"You need me to massage it?" Okay, those were totally seduction vibes.

"I'll do yours if you do mine."

Totally. Seduction.

Kirsten couldn't help herself. She leaned close, daring to whisper, "I'm very into mutual pleasure."

"I've been known to dig that too, honey." Skyla's voice went a little breathless.

Oh, thank god. She was afraid that she'd just been stupidly optimistic. Now she thought she was spot on, and she wanted to kiss Skyla hard.

It sort of didn't matter if this was just experimentation on Skyla's part. Some of her fascination was the ability to reach for the untouchable, just once. Skyla wiggled them around until they were nose to nose, and that little smile lit fires deep in her belly.

"Hey." She wasn't one to be shy, so she just took what Skyla was offering, the first brush of their lips literally causing a spark of static electricity. She swallowed Skyla's gasp in the second kiss, her entire body coming to life in a rush.

Skyla slid a hand up behind her head, her moan making Kirsten's toes curl. She played with Skyla's tongue, her tongue stud making Skyla shiver.

Yeah, she'd never met another woman who didn't want to know what that little piece of metal could do on her clit.

The sound of a song she didn't recognize started to play, loud and raucous. It sounded like maybe "Rednecker" by HARDY.

"Shit." Skyla sighed. "That will be my band. Since it's morning and all."

"Oh? They fly in direct?" That didn't happen much.

"They're on the bus. Dan prefers to drive at night. He's going to park the bus somewhere on a rented lot and I bet Hailey will rent a car wherever she can do that closest. She'll just come and go. I had planned to just Uber while I was here, and there's the little downtown shuttle, I saw.

"Yeah. It's reliable." She had a car, but she didn't have to drive a ton. She was pretty convenient. "Did you need me to get you back to your house?"

"I—Do you mind? I'm not sure I could face walking today, or riding the shuttle."

"Of course. I got a car." That fantasy was cut short by real life, wasn't it?

"Thanks, honey." Skyla sat up, looking at her with real regret.

Kirsten sat up and checked the clock. She had time to take Skyla wherever she wanted to go, run by the new little drive-thru coffee shack, and come home without anyone seeing her. She didn't need to worry about everyone giving her shit, or worse, making things hard for Skyla.

Not only that, but she didn't need to be making any walks of shame.

She winked over and then went to pee and grab her boots. She wasn't sure how to do this part—never had been.

Thanks for the writing and the kiss. Have a nice life. See you on the TV sometime.

When she came back out, Skyla passed her on the way in.Skyla returned not long later, stopping to put a hand on her arm. "This was amazing. You should come sit in with us some night this week."

"Oh." Right. Like she was qualified for that shit. There was no way. "If it works out, sure."

"Cool." Those green eyes went a little sad, a little distant. "I think the guys would love to listen to you play. Let's exchange numbers, huh? I want to talk to you about selling that first song. I think Brandy Carlile or even Ashley McBride might be interested."

"I—You think? That would be cool." She held out her phone for Skyla to put in her number. "That's not why I kissed you."

"I know that. You don't have a bit of lie in you. I bet you tell the truth even when a white lie would be kinder." Skyla winked as if to take any sting out of that. Skyla did tap her number in, then let Kirsten put hers in Skyla's. "It's a damn good song."

She let that one go, though she agreed. "Come on. You want a coffee first? There's a drive-thru with an oat milk cinnamon latte."

"That sounds amazing." Skyla shrugged into her parka.

"Cool. Come on. The Outback is in the garage. I get it with the rent." It was the benefit of renting the same place for so long.

"Wow. That's a neat arrangement. So many places make you fight to park on the street." Skyla laughed. "And you have a Subaru. Of course you do."

"Yep. It's a tank. I love it. It takes me up into the mountains whenever I want." She was a camper, and she could spend days up there. "It also has a rainbow sticker, a lesbian pride frog, and a giant hood violet. Just because I can."

And because she wasn't hiding or lying, not for anything.

Skyla grinned wide, not at all intimidated, she thought. "Fight the good fight, honey."

"Every fucking day." And there wasn't enough money to go back in that closet, not for her. "Come on, honey. Let's get you caffeinated and home."

She needed a shower and a cuddle with her babies, maybe a nap. That would put her to rights.